Various implements are known in the turf industry for renovating, improving or maintaining a turf surface, such as a lawn, the fairways or greens of golf courses, or any other expanse of ground that has been planted in grass. These implements are variously referred to in the industry as “slicer seeders”, as “aerators”, as “scarifiers”, as “dethatchers”, or as “verticutters”. A common characteristic of these implements is the use of a rotatable slicing reel that is rotated about a substantially horizontal axis of rotation. The slicing reel carries a plurality of laterally spaced, vertically disposed cutting members that are used for cutting or slicing into a soil layer of the turf to create narrow slits in the turf or for pulling, tearing or otherwise acting on a thatch layer of the turf to in a process known as dethatching. As used in this application, the term “turf” is intended to mean “grass and the soil that is under it including the layer of dead or decomposing plant matter known as thatch that accumulates on top of the soil around the bottoms of the blades of grass”.
In operating such implements, there is a need to be able to adjust the height of the slicing reel relative to the turf to control how slicing reel acts on the turf. In some cases, such as in removing or breaking up the layer of thatch that is often found in the turf, it is desirable that the lowermost portions of the orbits of the cutting members on the slicing reel be located above the soil but low enough to pass beneath the tops of the stalks of grass to enter the thatch layer to a desired depth. In other cases, it is desirable to actually enter the soil to create narrow slits in the structure of the soil, often for the simple purpose of aerating the soil but sometimes for the more complicated purpose of adding fertilizer, topdressing material, grass seeds, or the like into the soil for improving or maintaining the health of the turf. In these latter cases, the slicing reel must be lowered still further relative to the soil until the lowermost portions of the orbits of the cutting members are beneath ground level to enter into the soil to some desired depth. The height of the slicing reel will also require adjustment as the cutting members wear down.
Various ways of adjusting the height of the turf slicing reel are known in the art. One way is to raise and lower the entire implement using height adjustable wheels on the frame of the implement to thereby raise and lower the slicing reel relative to the frame. Another way is to use wheels on the frame that are not adjustable in height, but to raise and lower the slicing reel itself relative to the frame. Regardless of which way is used, it is desirable that the mechanism for effecting the height adjustment be simple in construction, durable, quick, and easy for the operator to use.
In a slicer seeder previously manufactured and sold by Lawn Solutions, Inc., a pivotal height adjustment lever was used by an operator to rotate an auxiliary shaft that was coupled to the shaft of the slicing reel by a pair of yoke arms. Rotation of the auxiliary shaft in opposite directions vertically lifted and lowered the shaft of the slicing reel relative to the frame of the implement to lift and lower the slicing reel relative to the turf. The lever could be held in a pivotally adjusted position by a spring loaded pin carried on the lever. The free end of the pin could be received in any one of a series of height adjustment holes provided on the frame of the implement. However, this mechanism did not tightly hold the parts in place which allowed for excessive vibration, wear, and noise.